The books I remember the most from my childhood are Starfish by Lisa Fipps, Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk, and Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm. (Note: all of these are first-person and range from 5th grade to upper middle school)
Starfish was a story I had heard – and lived in some situations – before. A fictional story spun from real words and situations comes to a heartbreaking head that makes you cheer Ellie on through her struggles and smile at her wins. I found the book, while unorthodox in its structure, captivating and unique in the way it describes the struggle of a fat (yes! I said the word!) kid in Texas.
Wolf Hollow is no light read – littered with death and pain at every corner at the hands of Betty Glengarry – the local bully willing to go to extreme lengths to punish Annabelle for her mere existence. You’ll be on the edge of your seat wondering how Annabelle will make it out of the situations she inadvertently snowballs out of her own control. Audible gasps will be sure to escape in almost every chapter. Personally, I’ve read the book in one sitting multiple times.
Turtle in Paradise drops you into the shoes of 11-year-old Turtle, living in the heart of the Great Depression – as she speaks to the reader about her dislike of children, specifically snotty babies and little boys. To her horror, she finds that she’s spending the foreseeable future in the key west with her aunt and her four young boys who run a babysitting business and con the local adults for extra cash. While she waits for her mother to come rescue her from her nightmare, she finds that “alligator pear”-eyed Bean and his brothers may be just what she’s missing in the life she’s formed a hard shell to protect against.
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